Partick Thistle chairman David Beattie has hailed a deal which has left Partick Thistle “mortgage-free”.

The club announced yesterday that it had struck an agreement with Bank of Scotland, with the help of shareholder investment, that had left the Jags free of debt.

Beattie could not hide his delight following the announcement, which he feels could be even bigger for the club than the success of the Save the Jags campaign in the late nineties.

He said: “What it means is we don’t have a mortgage anymore.

“How great is that? We have no debt, and we owe no money to any other banks.

“It’s a strange feeling because there’s been a lot of hard work on the background by a number of directors to get us to this position, and it’s a relief.

“It allows us to build the club on solid rock foundations instead of shifting sands.

“I think it may even be our biggest result off the pitch since before the time of the Save the Jags campaign. I can’t remember a time that Thistle weren’t in debt in some way. Now this institution is debt-free, and there probably isn’t a lot of clubs in British football that can say that.”

Whilst Beattie was unable to reveal the identity of the investors that had enabled the deal to go through, he assured Thistle fans that they have the best interests of the club at heart.

“I’m under confidentiality, the investors want to keep it quiet just now,” he said.

“In the fullness of time that will come out no doubt, but I can’t talk about it just now. What I can say is that they are Thistle-minded people though.”

One of the central facets of the deal was the creation of the Partick Thistle Football Club Trust, which aims to provide supporters an opportunity to have a greater say in the running of the club through fan-appointed representatives on the trust’s board.

A move to a fan ownership model, like the ones being explored at the likes of Hearts and Motherwell, is not currently on the horizon though.

“We’re trying to be creative and we’re trying to do things to make the club better, that’s our job as directors of the club; to take the club forward and to leave it better than we found it,” Beattie said.

“We haven’t ironed out all the details, but the supporter’s trust being formed was one of the aspects that the bank were eager for us to set up and we’re happy to do that.

“Fan engagement is always important and I think every club can do better on that front, but there is a sensitivity in terms of the information that you can give the fans. For instance, at the moment I can’t even tell them who the investors are in the club.

“Communication is the key though, and the more we can communicate with the fans and the more they can communicate back the way, can only be a good thing.

“We haven’t got fan ownership on our agenda right at this present moment, it’s never came across our bows so to speak.”

Whilst the news of the club going debt-free will undoubtedly be welcomed by the fans, Beattie was quick to temper any expectations of additional investment in the playing squad.

His outlook remains, as it always has been, on keeping the club on an even financial keel.

“With the debt rescheduling we have done with the bank, there will be a bit more money coming in, but it won’t be substantial,” he said.

“I’ve been involved with the club for over 8 years now, and on the business-side it’s always been fundamental that we have a sustainable football club to go forward. From that basis, you can build things, and I think that’s where we are today, which is great.”